ECU Dance Concert Remembering Michael Jackson

Dance students at East Central University will focus on "Remembering the Man" as they pay tribute to the late Michael Jackson in their spring dance concert Friday and Saturday [APRIL 23-24].

 
Christopher Geisler (foreground) and Lauren Durbin rehearse a tap dance to Michael Jackson music for the spring dance concert at East Central University. "Remembering the Man" is the theme for both performances that begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday [APRIL 22-23] in the Ataloa Theatre in the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center. The free concert also will include four senior projects and performances by Collage, ECU's dance ensemble.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Ataloa Theatre in the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center. Admission is free.

The concert's opening and finale, as well as performances by students in Ballet I and Tap II classes, will be set to Michael Jackson's music.

Dance students who will present senior projects are Jade McKenzie and Randi Hall, both of Ada; Semetria Mangon of Mount Pleasant, Texas; and Brooke Geisler of Norman.

Collage, ECU's dance ensemble, will perform "Purl" and "Passage," the works they presented at the South-Central Regional American College Dance Festival April 7-10 at Northwestern State University of Louisiana.

"Purl" presents the meaning of the word, to ripple, swirl or travel in circular pathways, said Dr. Victoria Dansby, professor of communication and director of ECU's dance program.

"Passage" was choreographed by guest artist Chia-Chi Chang, a freelance performer, teacher, and choreographer who came to ECU last summer to work with the dancers. She set the intense work in response to her father's death and how she dealt with it, Dansby said.

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